Tagged: Evangelion

Happy October everyone! As the fall approaches, I’m excited for one of the best months of the year. Football is back, baseball games actually matter (when not rained out), Octoberfest and its various spellings are going on, and we’re 14 days away from New York Comic Con/ Anime Festival. With online badges beginning to sell out, it’s a wise decision to swing by Forbidden Planet to pick up passes to the biggest and bestest comic/pop-culture convention on the East Coast! And since it’s rare that anyone discusses the well-run but way-smaller Anime Festival section of the convention, today’s article will focus on FPNYC’s import section in its honor!

Shall we start off looking at some new anime influenced statues based on western properties? Obviously yes, because the photos of the new releases are already attached to the article, and you really have no say in the matter. While I await the new Marvel releases, 2 new DC Ami-Cons statues have hit the shelves; another Wonder Woman statue, based on the JMS/Phil Hester run of the series, and Raven of Teen Titans fame for the first time! Raven is super Gothed-out, judging from the size of those boots with their many buckles. I can’t say I’m a fan of either of them, because there’s already been a ton of Wonder Woman anime statues and I was never crazy about Raven to be honest. But what’s this? A new Kotobukiya Bishoujo statue? Based on…. GHOSTBUSTERS?! Yup! Say hello to Lucy folks! Why I haven’t cared about Ghostbusters in forever and think the torn uniform is a little fan service-y, this is a beautiful statue, armed with the trademark Proton Pack, Ecto Goggles and ghost trap. And for what we’re charging for it, it’s a great pick up if you’re a fan of Ghostbusters or the Bishoujo line. Continue reading →

Suffice it to say that there is a new TENGEN TOPPEN GURREN LAGANN book out this week and I’m super-dooper excited about it! Why, you may ask? Well, obviously because TTGL is freaking awesome, and also because its manga adaptation, amazingly enough, doesn’t suck chunks, as most adaptations of pretty much anything tend to do. Really, that’s probably just an aspect of being made by GAINAX, as TTGL is one of the latest offerings from the studio of Evangelion and FLCL fame. For reasons that will quickly become obvious the second you start watching it, TTGL quickly moved into the winner’s circle of insta-classics, and definitely helped revitalize the then-sagging anime industry. Oh, what’s that? I’m sorry, you want me to tell you the reasons that TTGL is so great before you start it? What, you think my word isn’t good enough to send you dashing to the shelves? You worry you might be wasting your time with a show you might not like? Oh, ye of little faith, what am I going to do with you?

Well, reason number one is pretty obvious: hot, curvy babes in booty shorts and tiny tops that are bursting with the famous GAINAX jiggle. Also the fact that Kamina, King of the Bros (TM), is probably the coolest character to star in a show since Spike Spiegal, and that’s no lie. Considering that he’s really only there for the first eight episodes or so before making a dramatic exit, he still manages to dominate the TTGL fanbase, perhaps even more so than his red-haired, bikini-top wearing sidekick, Yoko. And she has boobs, man. BOOBS. I mean, TTGL is probably about the manliest, chest-bumpingest anime ever, so what else would you expect, I suppose. Continue reading →

I’m sure by now, you, the Forbidden Planet blog reader, are dying to know what I think of the Green Lantern movie, as well as the DC Reboot this upcoming September (If not, please humor my frail ego). Well I saw the GL film this past weekend and I thought it was a very mediocre flick (I’m not alone apparently, as of this previous Monday, it’s yet to make it’s budget back). Despite a solid cast and some good CGI work, the script wasn’t very good, and that ruined my overall enjoyment of the film. Despite under-performing though, it seems Warner Bros is going ahead with a sequel, which hopefully will have a better plot, and some decent villains (and more cool toys!). Although it’s pretty much a safe bet for the sequel we’re getting Sinestro (it will be nice to see him in the film for more than 5 minutes). As for the “new” DCU this September, I’ll read anything written by Peter Milligan, Gail Simone and Grant Morrison, and it seems the Green Lantern titles are relatively unaffected, numbering aside. That’s good, because man, I’m not even going to get started on what’s wrong with this new Suicide Squad book. However Geoff John and Jim Lee are way overdue to handle a Justice League book, so it’s going to be nice to see that title being readable again. That being said, let that be a clever segway to our first new items this week: The Justice League classics Series 1. Based on the iconic versions of the characters, DC Direct’s 1st wave consists of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Granted these are all re-releases with new painted jobs, not to mention characters who’ve all have had many a figure before, it’s a welcomed release for any potential new collectors who want a vanilla Batman figure for their desk for book shelf. At $20 bucks a pop, what’s there to complain about right? Continue reading →

DC Direct seems to like making a liar out of me. A while back, I previewed 3 different lines of figures (Blackest Night series 7 & 8, Mass Effect 2 series 1) that were supposed to be on shelves by now. They aren’t, and all 3 lines have been pushed back to the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2011. Why? DC Direct gave no reasons, but the company is apparently notorious for doing such. This makes for me being a sad panda, although my bank account is pleased as it can recover from the holidays. HOWEVER, the first line of Green Lantern Classics are out (Mattel) and we got them! I haven’t picked up any yet (Kyle Rayner was sold out when I got to the shop), but they look great! Look for a review sometime in the new year.

Moving along, today we’re gonna to take a look at what’s in the import section of Forbidden Planet’s NYC store, as there’s some stuff that tends to get overlooked, or sells out real quick so it doesn’t get it’s time in the spotlight.

Konami’s R-Style Evangelion and Haruhi figurines.

Konami, much like SEGA, just doesn’t just releases games in Japan, they’re also famous for releasing some cool toys from time to time. The R-Style line is Konami’s brand of super-deformed chibis based on popular series. You really can’t do much with them, they are pretty cheap, are well-sculpted and painted, and can be displayed easily. Not for everyone, but I have a few of the EVA ones (plus some older R-Styles from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann), and unlike most Gasaphon, you acutally know who you’re buying via indication on the side of the box. Continue reading →

And we’re back at our look at the Eva 0-1 from Evangelion 2.0! I managed to finish this kit amongst the confusion of a bachelor party, birthday, an upcoming wedding and a trip to Atlanta, because I am a multi-tasking hero.

So to the left you have the Waist unit of the 0-1. The articulation here is way different from the traditional Gunpla, as most Gundams has a waist that turn left to right. Not so much with the 0-1, as the plates shift giving it some articulation, but you really cant move the it. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just something different from what I’m used to dealing with. The layers of multi-colored armor is nice as well, and the “spinal cord” pieces fit onto the lower back quiet well, unlike some of the upper back/shoulder.

Yes, this would be the leg for the Eva. Unlike the arms, there’s no cool plastic pieces that hide the knees, but the kit does a find job of doing itself. The legs on the kit are crazy long with makes sense, given the design of the mecha, and I’m happy to say that their pretty strong as well, despite on how thin they are. The feet are fairly impressive as well. Give how more Humanoid the EVA is, you have to construct a separate foot and heel, which are slightly articulate. Nothing special, but hey, it’s only feet right? Continue reading →

Fun facts kids: Bandai makes kits for other mecha franchises that don’t contain the word “Gundam”. Macross Frontier, Dragon Ball Z, Escaflowne, and of course, Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion have all received the Gunpla treatment, and today, we’ll be looking at the EVA o-1 from the 2nd Eva movie “Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. Spoiler alert: It’s awesome, yet complex as hell.

Series Origin: The Eva 0-1 originates from Gainax’s 1997 mega-hit “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, a 26 episode series which spawned 2 movies, another 4 movies which retell the series (or at least we think they 2. So far only 2 of them have been released and things aren’t exactly the same. Remember the Mari review from a few weeks back), and a ton of merchandise, including countless manga, video games, figurines, and stuff I can’t mention here.

Legacy: The Eva 0-1 is probably the most popular of the mecha from the series, although Asuka and Rei have gotten a lot more of merchandise as fan service has made Gainax a lot of money. Aside from the various merchandise, movies and manga (aka the Gainax tri-fect of money) , the 0-1 has cameo-ed/been re imagined for the Japan-only Super Robot Wars game, has appeared on postage stamps, and recently, had a amusement park built at the base of a Japanese mountain with a 1:1 scale bust of the Eva 0-1 as well as a to scale entry plug. That’s all kinds of awesome in my opinion. Continue reading →

If you follow the child-pool depth continuity of this blog, Loran’s off at Otakon this weekend. I like video games, drinking and not dealing with a city where “The Wire” took place, so I’m home this weekend, posting an additional article. But we’re not talking Gunpla today, or even Gundam. Instead, we’re going to focus on the overlooked import toy section of Forbidden Planet NYC! I’m hoping to turn this into a new feature on the blog, as man, I love me some Revoltechs.

Revoltechs, as some of you may or may not know, are the Japanese equivalent of Marvel Legends/DC Universe Classic line, only Revoltechs aren’t limited to just one brand. You’ll find properties such as Street Fighter, Sengoku Basara, Gurren Lagann, Trigun amongst dozens of others represented in the 100+ figures produced, including some American properties such as Batman Begins, Jurassic Park and Aliens. Today I’ll be focusing on one of the newer figures from the Fraulein: Makinami Mari Illustrious from the 2nd Neon Genesis Evangelion remake movie.

Yes, she has a pink plugsuit. Japan’s empowering to females like that. SARCASM! Continue reading →

Eva 1.0 is the first of four films that comprise a Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy. Essentially a re-telling of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series, done up with schmancy new art and CG, the film’s a spectacular testament to the series longevity and lasting appeal.

Starting tomorrow, Friday 18th (mah berfday!), it’s getting a week-long theatrical run in NYC at Village East Cinemas, 181-189 2nd Avenue at 12th Street… a few short blocks around the corner form Forbidden Planet. Getcher anime on, then be sure you hit up the FP, ya hear?